Black Moon Rising
by VampieressBlood
Summary: Honoring the Rokudaime's last wishes, four girls have gone back in time to Konoha to right the wrongs and make sure certain things never happen. Will they save the future or assure it's destruction? And will they ever get back to thier own time?
1. Chapter 1

Long before the great Oto/Konoha war

VampBlood: Hey people! This is my rewritten Black Moon. Hope you enjoy it! It's still a time-travel fic, but different from the first one. I changed what happened to my Ocs, but I hope its okay! Enjoy and please R&R!

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-Valley of The End-

_To shatter a heart is an ultimate sin_

He snarled as pain enveloped his body, his eyes glaring at the crimson eyes of his once friend. Grimacing, he pulled the arm out of his stomach and slashed at him, red blood blossoming over navy clothes and pale skin.

_To see what the world has become_

The other hissed, his own eyes glaring into the boy who had been underneath him, worth less than the dirt he walked on. Yet, where did he get this power? This power he lusted for as his own. He growled in warning as his right arm, however broken, crackled with white lightning

_I will not wait much longer_

As his former teammate raised his hand, crackling with white light, making him look all the more sinister, he himself made multiple handsigns and forced a glowing ball of compressed chakra into his right hand. The glow of white and blue lit up the barren wasteland that had once been where they had always fought together, side by side. In a split second, they charged at each other, both with the intent to kill.

_Following means pursuing a dangerous path_

White crackled and blue swirled, two deadly forces about to collide. Two rivals about to kill. Two friends about to die. Indigo met crimson as the two remembered their youth, where they had once been friends, brothers. But it had shattered as soon as one left, leaving the other behind

_Why did you betray me_

As the two forces collided, struggling for dominance, the two figures stared at each other. To think that they had once talked with each other. To think long ago they had loved one another like brothers. To think that long ago, they had been friends. Indigo eyes sparkled as he broke into a forgiving smile. The other smirked in slight amusement. Even in death, they smiled.

_Together we lived and together we shall part_

As the attacks triggered an explosion, the darker-haired one died, smirk on his face, his onyx eyes closed. The other breathed harshly, knowing his time was soon to be up. He smiled softly at the thought of finally leaving this world, joining up with his friend, his brother, in hell. For no ninja went to heaven

_As tears overflow, I only see you_

He smirked at the thought of the four he had sent, to prevent this from happening. To insure everyone a second chance. So that perhaps, he and his brother could live together, in peace.

_I await you, arms flung out_

"Sasuke," he murmured as he coughed up blood, watching from a distance as a spiral of blue struck up into the dark ebony sky, leaving nothing but the wind behind.

_For forever, I will never be alone_

Trusting those who had gone to prevent this mistake, this tragedy from occurring, the tired man closed his eyes, his soul descending to its rightful place. He could see his raven-haired friend and so many others who had been lost to the world. Eyes overflowing with tears of quiet happiness, Uzumaki Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage, died.

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I never understood the Rokudaime and his ways. He accepted people when they hated him, despised him, spit in his face. Why did he take it? He was one of the strongest men I knew and more than powerful enough to kill every ninja in Konohagakure.

The villagers viewed him a monster, a disgrace to the village. They were actually ashamed to have such a powerful leader. Their eyes were clouded by hate and pain that they didn't notice the man within. I hated him, for being so generous and selfless.

Why couldn't he just have decimated them all? I was young then, but even I knew what he would do. But when I asked, all I got was the annoying ruffling of my hair, the stupid grin on his stupid face.

"Because," he'd reply, "If I kill, they kill, and we'll be left with nothing."

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-Konohagakure Ninja Academy-

A blonde boy sat in front of the Academy, failed for the third time. He watched with envy as the graduated children ran to their parents, who swept them up in a rush of pride and joy, something he never had. He frowned as he watched those who had passed run to their families, clutching their headbands proudly. He sighed as he swung quietly on the wooden swing, his azure eyes downcast into the dirt.

He had once again failed, once again proven the fool and a dead last. Just like everyone had predicted. He winced as he felt the glares of scorn and hate pierce him like sharp needles, he didn't want to feel their spite, their hatred of his very existence. No matter, after he did what Mizuki-sensei told him to do, he'd pass the test and become the genin he was meant to be. After that, he'd become Hokage, so that one day, everyone would have to acknowledge his existence and respect who he was. He'd failed Iruka-sensei, the only person who had cared, but he was determined to make him proud.

For Uzumaki Naruto never broke his nindo, his ninja way. Mizuki-sensei had promised the blond that he would pass if he stole the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's vault. Since he was the class's master prankster, it wouldn't be that hard and he'd pass. He'd be one step closer to being Hokage. From being acknowledged by everyone. They'd have to admit then that he was better than Sasuke-teme.

His mood soured at the thought of the Uchiha, surrounded by his fangirls. Always praised for being the best, the Uchiha was stuck-up, an asshole, and one day he'd beat the jerk to a pulp. That would show the arrogant teme his place. The boy scowled at the thought of the ebony haired boy, a prodigy and last of his clan. With a mix of his good looks and talents, he was the natural star of the village. Never having to really work, he had everything handed to him. Top of everything, he never knew what it was like to have every failure you every had smashed into your face. To be laughed at when you fell and to be scorned when you succeeded.

It hurt, it tore his heart apart into little shreds, leaving an empty void behind the cheerful indifference of his mask. His blue eyes threatened to over flow as he felt the looks of scorn and hate on him. He never knew what he had done wrong. He was like everyone else, just really bad at Bunshin no Jutsu. But for some reason, they continued to ignore him, to hate him, to blame him for things he didn't understand.

"Hey, did you hear. That boy was the only one who didn't pass," muttered a woman to her friend, pointing straight at Naruto. "Good," countered her friend, "What would have happened if they'd passed a…" "Shhhh," cut in the woman, "You know we're not allowed to say that! Come on, let's go." As the women passed, glaring at his slumped body, the boy sighed, as he got ready to go home. He needed to prepare for tonight's big adventure. The blonde reluctantly got up, having to get ready for the test tonight, put on his cheery mask and walked away, not feeling the emerald gaze on him.

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-Konohagakure forest-

Anger, hate, fear, rejection, and betrayal ran though his body as the blonde boy ran through the forest, his arms clutching the awkwardly big scroll. Tears ran down his scarred cheeks like molten lava as his feet swept the forest floor, his intent on getting away from him, his sensei. The boy screamed to the heavens his fury, his anger, the scream tearing though his throat until it ached. His ears pricked at the sound of metal clanging and he quickly hid behind the thick trunk of a tree, waiting, dreading.

Just then, a dark chunin with a scar across his nose raced into the clearing, a pale blue-haired chunin after him, fuma surikin strapped to his back. The dark chunin was wounded, crimson blood flowing from his back as he sunk to the cold forest ground. "Why?" asked the pale man, Mizuki, with a sneer as he fingered his second surikin, "Do you continue to defend the demon that killed your parents thirteen years ago?" The blonde's eyes teared up as he anticipated the final betrayal, the words that would tear open his heart and drive him to the edge.

"It is true that the Kyuubi no Yoko killed my parents thirteen years ago," started the dark chunin, Umino Iruka, hesitantly as he gasped for breath. The blonde bowed his head in shame until Iruka started again, coughing and hacking up blood, "But that was the Kyuubi. The boy you speak of is Uzumaki Naruto, a loyal and trustworthy citizen of Konohagakure." Naruto's eyes widened as Mizuki sneered again and replied, "Well then Iruka, you are a fool. And you will die a fool." Mizuki then hurled his fuma surikin toward the dark chunin, the glinting edges of metal hurtling straight toward his heart. "_Good-bye Naruto_," thought Iruka silently when suddenly the fuma surikin was deflected with a well-placed kunai.

Both chunin stared in shock as a blur of bright orange appeared in front of the scarred Academy-teacher. "If you put one finger on Iruka-sensei, stated Naruto, his azure eyes stone cold and his face full of fury, "…I will personally kill you." Mizuki merely smirked and retorted, "Well come on then, demon kitsune, let's see how much destruction you can pursue now!" Naruto silently lifted his hands in the mitsuji (ram) hand sign as he yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, the whole dark clearing was filled with orange as hundreds of clones appeared in the clearing. Mizuki cried out in shock as Iruka thought, with a crooked grin, "_Those are Kage Bunshin, solid clones. And there are hundreds of them! To have learned that jutsu in a few hours…_"

"Am I a failure now?" muttered Naruto, smirking cruelly, turning his eyes toward Mizuki, his azure eyes turned indigo. With a quick flick of his hand, Naruto launched a valley of pain for Mizuki, via his clones. But even with the hundreds of blows that impacted with his body, Mizuki managed to hurl a surikin at the blonde, himself following after via Kawamari no Jutsu. Iruka's eyes widened as he opened his mouth to yell, but found nothing to say.

Naruto's indigo eyes narrowed as his chakra flared not the crimson chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, but writhing silver chakra that tussled in the air, like tentacles, and flicked the surikin away like a bothersome fly. Naruto's hair grew crimson red as his eyes turned green and the iris cracked like a mirror, his pupils dyed a blood red. Mizuki stared in fear as Naruto's eyes glowed ominously and he whispered, "Kaze no Kizu" The silver chakra then started to surround his right-hand, like a medical jutsu, and Naruto raised his hand, his eyes burning bright. Mizuki twitched as the blonde boy brought his hand down though what seemed like nothing like one would a blade. Mizuki furrowed his brow in confusion, but suddenly panicked as three silvery blades of wind rushed toward him, dragging across the ground (Like Kaze no Kizu from Inuyasha).

Mizuki screamed as the three blades slashed his chest, leaving three heavy claw-like strips of pain from his waist to his right shoulder. Mizuki fainted beside his surikin, unconscious from the chakra as the chakra around Naruto died down and his appearance faded back to normal. Naruto wavered a little, exhausted, and fell to the ground, hearing Iruka crying out his name. As his azure eyes fluttered open and shut and he embraced the familiar darkness, Naruto heard the distant sound of someone saying, "Well done."

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-Konohagakure Hospital, the next morning-

Naruto groaned as he finally opened his eyes, his head pounding. "_What happened?_" thought Naruto, rubbing his head. He only then remembered Mizuki, Iruka-sensei, and the scroll. "Ugh, my head hurts," mumbled Naruto, looking around at his surroundings. It was the hospital. Naruto's face hardened into cold rage at the thought of being here again. Here where people had tried to kill him multiple times when he was weak. And why, because of something he held, something he had no control over. It made him sick to realize that they were human and if humanity was like this, he'd gladly say he was a demon. "Well, considering you just activated your doujutsu, it isn't really a surprise," stated a voice. Naruto turned sharply, eyes wide as he spotted a girl sitting on the windowsill, her feet dangling outside.

With uneven hair cut to her shoulders, colored autumn brown, and vivid emerald eyes, the girl looked no older than him. She wore a black fishnet shirt and black slacks, nothing special. But what really interested Naruto was her overall appearance. She was skinny, perhaps a bit too skinny, with a haunted look in her eyes. But perhaps what was the most obvious flaw to the girl was the scar that ran from her right cheek to the base of her neck, as if someone had tried to slit her throat a long time ago.

"…You gotta be kidding me," said Naruto sheepishly, faking a cheerful tone, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm just a orphan boy. How the hell would I have a doujutsu?" In an instant, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek as the girl suddenly slapped him, her face in a scowl, her scar all the more visible. "Don't you ever play games with me," growled the girl as Naruto held his injured cheek in shock. The girl bit her lip and whispered to herself so quietly that even Naruto had to bend to hear, "Damn it all, Rokudaime-sama. You just had to be a mask wearing fool as a child."

This confused Naruto immensely, as even he knew that there was no Rokudaime in any of the Hidden Villages. "Who are you?" asked Naruto simply, his azure eyes flashing indigo as they met with emerald green. Unlike Sakura's, her eyes were pure emerald, sparkling in both dark and light shades. Despite the scar on her face, she was a pretty girl. "I'm Kusanagi Subaru," she replied, breaking away from his indigo gaze. So much like him, and he didn't even know who the hell she was talking about. "Subaru-san…what do you mean about my doujutsu," asked Naruto again, the pieces of his cracking mask now gone. His face, although the same physically, was contorted in pain, sorrow, a streak of rage and loneliness marring the usually happy features of Uzumaki Naruto.

Subaru's lips twitched at her first sight beyond his mask. So much pain, sorrow, she nearly chocked, but stopped herself. She experienced the same thing many times over. "Tell me Naruto," asked Subaru, her gaze glancing straight at his own eyes, "Have you heard of Shiogakure no Sato?" "The Village Hidden in the Tides?" translated Naruto, a puzzled look on his face, indicating his confusion. "Shiogakure was once a prosperous village, just a few miles south of Nami no Kuni, in Uzumaki no Kuni,"

At this, Naruto raised an eyebrow, but Subaru cut him off with a sharp glance and continued, "The Shodaime Rasenkage, or Spiral Shadow, was a man known as Daidoji Kanade. It is said he was a demon of an unknown race who started Shiogakure beneath the waves of the sea. Soon, he started teaching the people of the village the art of ninjutsu and soon they became a renowned village. Kanade then met Fujitaka Sonomi, a human kunoichi, and started a family with her.

As their descendents married more humans, their demon blood thinned until there was barely any left. However, many years later, a man named Satsuki Souzou, discovered his demon blood and harnessed it, carefully training himself to accept his demon blood until he finally made himself a bloodline." "Wait a minute," stated Naruto; pointing his finger a Subaru, "You can't make a bloodline. Otherwise, everybody would have one!" Subaru rolled her eyes and retorted, "Didn't I just say he harnessed his demon blood? That was doujutsu are basically, people with a thin line of youkai blood.

Anyway, he called the doujutsu Kireme no Manako or Rift Eye. It is a doujutsu that grants the user with the vision to see where elements collide with each other." When Naruto cocked his head to one side in confusion again, Subaru explained, "For example, when a ninja focuses chakra to his hand, there is a line between the chakra and the human limb where the chakra is colliding against the hand. The Kireme no Manako allows the user to see this line of collusion and with a style created by Satsuki Souzou, one can cut the colliding line. This causes a sort of explosion, like when you split an atom, and the chakra, which was colliding in minimal amounts before, multiplies against the opponent."

Naruto's eyes lit up at the idea of such power, when suddenly, something crossed his mind. "You said that Shiogakure was once a great village. Was it destroyed?" asked Naruto, his eyes darkening as he thought to the Uchiha massacre a few years back. "Shiogakure proved to be a threat to all the hidden villages as it slowly gained a name for itself. As a result, they feared the village would become too powerful and banded together, decimating it with their huge numbers. There were some survivors of the other clans, the Takumi and the Yagami, but there were only two known survivors of the Uzumaki clan: Uzumaki Kushina and Nakuru.

Nakuru went to Kiri and married, having a daughter named Suzume. Suzume ended up marrying my father, Kusanagi Aoi, and having me. She died a few years ago when Kiri ninja found out about her doujutsu. Uzumaki Kushina came to Konoha were she married a man and had a son, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto's eyes shone as he exclaimed, "Is she alive? Is she okay? Are you my cousin? Who is my father?" Subaru rolled her eyes again and whacked the boy over the head and replied, "After having you, your mother went into a coma and has yet to wake up. Yes, I am your cousin…in a way and your father…was the very man who sealed Kyuubi inside of you."

Naruto stared at Subaru, narrowing his eyes, as he replied, "Impossible." Subaru opened her mouth to speak, thinking he was talking about his father, but Naruto cut her off as he stated, "If what you said about Nakuru-san's family is true, you would be much younger than me, yet you're nearly the same age as I am. Don't lie to me Subaru-san." "What you say is true, I should be younger than you…but let me finish the story. Uzumaki Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed inside him, but persevered and became the Hokage of Konohagakure.

He was a kind man who took in four orphans and trained them himself. However, he died protecting the village after killing his old teammate, who had become a traitor. But before he died, he entrusted the four orphans with a mission and a jutsu, to right the wrongs that had happened in the past," stated Subaru, her eyes boring into Naruto's. Naruto nodded, understanding completely what was going on.

But frankly, he didn't care about his clan, his father, or his future. Tired from all the information he had soaked in, he leaned on to his cousin, a small smile on his face, not noticing Subaru's smirk as well as they sat in comfortable silence in the hospital, watching the sun wet in a distance. Smiling, Naruto closed his eyes, knowing now what he had to do. To honor his own wishes, he would become Hokage.

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VampBlood: I know that this isn't exactly the best, but I thought Naruto was getting too mature way too fast. I want people to see he isn't perfect and that he has struggles, bigger than usual. The reason Naruto still wants to be Hokage is because that's the ideal goal for him, to become the strongest. I still have no idea what the pairing is going to be, though I have some idea for a FemHaku or Yugito. I don't want people to be older than him, 'cause that's just gross, or younger than him. Slash is out because I suck at righting it. There will be no Naru/Hina, Naru/Saku, nor Naru/OC. THIS WILL BE A SAKURA BASHING STORY!! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!! R&R please!!


	2. Chapter 2

VampBlood: Yo, what's up

VampBlood: Yo, what's up! I decided that I need some pairing ideas. NO SAKURA OR HINATA FOR NARUTO!! I hate those pairings a lot. I need ideas for my four Ocs and some for the other characters. But anyway, R&R please and enjoy the story!

"Speaking"

"_Thinking"_

"**Kyuubi speaking"**

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-Namikaze estate, two days later. Three days before Team Selections-

Naruto was sitting in the middle of the garden, his legs crossed and his eyes closed, in the middle of meditation. When Sarutobi had found out what Naruto now knew, he had presented his father's estate to him. He had first refused, but at the urges of his friends, accepted later. He felt no connection to his father, Namikaze Minato. He had placed too much trust in a village and they had ultimately betrayed him. This was his father's flaw and it had cost him his son's rightful childhood as well as his life. Naruto closed his eyes again as he reached into the deep abyss that was his mind and thought of his first meeting with Kyuubi

_-Flashback-_

_In front of him, in the middle of the black darkness, was a cage with blood red eyes gazing out at him._ **"Mortal, why have you come into my domain. I have no use talking to a worthless human like you,"** _stated Kyuubi as he glared at the insolent child in front of him. Naruto did not reply, instead walking calmly toward the cage. _**"What…what are you doing mortal?"** _asked Kyuubi as he watched the blonde boy warily. The boy was unusually calm and betrayed no emotion, this made the kitsune suspicious. _

_To his utter surprise and amazement, Naruto walked directly into the cage and stood before the Kyuubi, his bloodline activated and his crimson hair matching the fur of the kitsune youkai in front of him. "Kyuubi no Kitsune, For years you are the one that has made my hometown despise me and long for my death,"_ **"Hmph, no use going on guilt trips human,"** _replied Kyuubi, his nine tails swishing in the dim light that seemed to come from everywhere and no where at the same time. In truth, Kyuubi truly did have guilt, but not the kind of a mortal. He despised mortals from the moment they had taken what was his. _

_Mortals who were the ones who killed and ravaged the youkai, leaving behind ugly stories of gory actions that a demon rarely did. How they ate their own young or relished in destruction. Only a human had enough amounts of greed to start wars. Youkai usually did nothing to bother each other except for personal grudges, endangerment of family and property, as well as if a demon has gone mad. A youkai would have never treated their own kind like those of the Leaf village. It disgusted him immensely. "But, I come before you to ask why you attacked Konohagakure. Why you wanted its destruction," questioned Naruto, his face clam and devoid of emotion he had once had. _

"**Mortals, always greedy enough to start everything,"** _sneered Kyuubi, his face filled with hatred,_ **"Mortals who, in the name of the greater good, killed my human mate. In the name of the greater good and extermination of evil, killed my race many times over. They destroyed my kin and with it, my small trust in their kind. I will never forgive them and shall one day destroy Konoha, regardless of whether or not I have to kill you as well,"** _roared Kyuubi, his crimson eyes glowing with rage. "And who," asked Naruto again, his face unafraid, "Is this mortal mate you speak of?" _**"She of the land of Spiral. She of the crimson hair and the emerald gaze. She who brought laughter into my life as well as sorrow,"** _replied Kyuubi, his eyes filled with the mixed emotions he faced._

_Naruto now understood the kitsune's pain. He was no different than the villagers. He had had something precious taken away and decided to pour all his suffering into rage and attack all of the people of the village instead of seeking out the specific individuals, his rage blinding his judgment. "Kyuubi no Kitsune, was you mate of the name Uzumaki Kushina," asked Naruto, his face full of anticipation. If his answer were correct, this would perhaps be the end of their raging war that had taken place since his birth. _**"YOU! How do you know of her name?"** _yelled Kyuubi, clearly enraged by the fact that a lowly civilian of Konoha would dare speak the name of his beloved. _

_Naruto looked up at the grand and furious fox in front of him and simply said, "She is my mother." Kyuubi's crimson eyes widened as his rage seemed to fall, revealing the emotion hidden within._ **"You are her…son? How is that possible? She lay with only that damn Namikaze and if that were so, you should not have those whisker marks and your incredible stamina,"** _yelled the Kyuubi, his eyes flashing with shock,_ **"I merely thought you some street urchin but if you are her son…she lay with none other than her husband and**_**…"**__ "You I suppose," added Naruto, making the Kyuubi flinch and stare at him, as if examining him for what he was for the first time. _

_Every since the unlocking of his doujutsu, Naruto had gone under some small changes. His hair still blonde but more golden than sunshine yellow as well as it was tinted red, making it look like fire as it swayed above his neck. His eyes were an indigo color, a mixture of his azure blue and crimson red while his whisker marks seemed to be darker, making the boy look all the more feral and animalistic along with slightly pointed ears and sharper canines. Still the spitting image of the Yondaime, but with the characteristics of a fox, Naruto was a sight to behold. "If what you say is true, then there is a possibility that I am your son…" stated Naruto, making Kyuubi flinch all the more. Kyuubi sighed and managed to start glowing crimson red. Naruto started, thinking an attack, when the red light became blinding, forcing the blonde to cover his eyes._

_As the light dimmed back to the murky lighting of his mind, Naruto saw the figure in front of him. Looking in his early thirties, the man had crimson hair that seemed to be untamable as it swayed around his waist and crimson eyes. He had the orange-red ears of a fox on top his head as well as sharp canines, crimson eyes, claws, and nine orange-red foxtails behind him, glowing with power. But was the most interesting was that he shared the whisker marks that Naruto also had. _

"**You mean to say, that a lowly human like you…could ever be my son? You? The spawn of that worthless human who sealed me inside you and betraying bitch of a vixen? No, you are not my son. Now…GET OUT!"** _yelled Kyuubi, flaring his red chakra, baring his fangs as he forced Naruto out of his mind. As he watched the retreating figure, still wearing his trademark orange jacket, Kyuubi felt a wetness run down his cheeks. Not bothering to wipe it off, he strode back to the darkness of his cage, pondering on the possibility of…his son._

_-End Flashback-_

Naruto ignored the burning of his eyes, concentrating on his thoughts until he felt a sharp whack to his head, causing him to fall over. "What the hell was that for?" yelled Naruto as he rubbed the sore part of his blonde head, glaring at the perpetrator. Asagi Mahiru smirked as she waggled a finger in front of the blonde's face and teased, "It's not nice to yell, kitsune-chan" "Damn you," muttered Naruto, still rubbing his sore head. Asagi Mahiru was pretty damn strong for a kunoichi and focused on hand-to hand combat. With her dirty-blond hair cut short to her chin and steel grey eyes, Mahiru was a very self-assured and crazy kunoichi, much like a certain jonin. (cough ANKO cough).

Cocking her head to the side, she stated, "Your taijutsu has no form or balance. In other words, you suck. What the fuck to they teach people at the damned Academy?" Naruto sighed as he got up on wobbly legs, After getting out of the hospital and meeting his friend, Naruto had started a rigorous workout complete with laps around Konoha, crunches, push-ups, sit-ups, and weight training, making sure Naruto wasn't exactly a happy camper. "Today, we start taijutsu. Later, Tomoe will teach you chakra control, Mitsuru will teach you genjutsu, and Subaru will teach you kenjutsu. You obviously do not lack in ninjutsu, so that will not be taught," retorted Mahiru, wiping her blonde hair out of her eyes.

Naruto groaned, but got into the position that he associated most with, which was nothing better than a common street fighter's. Mahiru's brow furrowed as she slapped his hands away and closed her eyes, thinking deeply. "You obviously haven't been taught well, have you?" asked Mahiru, still with her eyes closed as she could sense Naruto visibly stiffening. "That's not my fault!" yelled Naruto, getting cut off when Mahiru whapped him over the head. "A true shinobi does not let his emotions show.

You have been hiding under that fool's mask for too long. Don't make it a habit," replied Mahiru, walking around Naruto, now visibly studying him, "You have a light, lithe body, much like Subaru's. You should associate with a taijutsu style that goes well with speed. You will have less power, but more accuracy." Naruto raised his eyebrow in confusion, but after Mahiru glared at him, quit asking questions. "Alright, no time for cursing, time for our daily run," declared Mahiru cheerfully as she dragged a groaning blonde toward the door. Through enduring many sore muscles and such, Naruto was now slowly gaining some nice muscles that sure as hell weren't there before.

This may also be due to the fact that Tomoe had restricted Naruto on ramen. The stuff had been stunting Naruto's growth and even now, after a week without eating it, Naruto had shot up two inches. _"Yup,"_ thought Mahiru cheerfully as she started chasing Naruto around Konoha to get him started, ignoring the groans and complaining of the blonde, _"It's so much fun to torture children."_

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-Konoha Academy, Team Selection Day-

Inside the Academy for the last time, the excited genin chattered, wondering whom their teammates and their sensei would be. Sasuke scowled as two girls fought over the seat next to him, one pink haired and the other platinum blonde. "Move over, Ino-pig, I'm going to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" declared Haruno Sakura as she pushed against the blonde next to her, determined to win the heart of her beloved Sasuke-kun. "As if forehead-girl," retorted Ino as she pushed back with equal force. Shikamaru sighed at the commotion in front of him. What a drag, the Uchiha was a broody emo, so what? It wasn't as if he was a god or something.

"_But considering how girls act around him,_" thought Shikamaru drawly, "_You'd think he was._" Just then, the door slammed open, revealing a surprising sight. Naruto walked in, scowling as well as the brooding Uchiha at being forced to be here. He strided in, ignoring everyone, including his "crush" Sakura, and sat in the seat that the two fangirls had been fighting over. Putting his feet unceremoniously on top the table, he leaned back and closed his eyes, oblivious to the two pairs of evil eyes glaring at him. "Naruto-baka, get out of that seat. I have sit next to Sasuke-kun!" shrieked Sakura as she raised her fist to, what she thought, would pummel him to the ground.

Catching the hand with no problem, Naruto lazily opened one azure eye, then closed it and let go of Sakura's fist. Sakura growled as Ino frowned in confusion. This wasn't like Naruto at all. The broody Uchiha noticed this as well and studied the supposed dead last. With his hair flatter than normal and tinted red, it hung around his face, giving Naruto a lain-back look.

Along with darker whisker marks, slightly longer canines, and longer nails, Naruto looked all the more animalistic, looking slightly like an Inuzuka. The blonde also had a completely new wardrobe, nearly devoid of orange, making it possible that the blonde had become insane. He wore a black muscle shirt, showing off muscles that had, since before, never been noticed, along with light white armor that covered his chest (like in ANBU) and a black hoodie with a red spiral on the back as well as the kanji for Spiral Shadow, or Rasenkage (ha ha ha). To complete the image, he had on black cargo pants with black combat boots, gloves, and the Konoha hitaite neatly wrapped around his forehead.

As Naruto opened his eyes and saw Sasuke staring, Naruto merely stuck out his tongue, causing Sasuke to glare at him in distaste, but also in confusion. This was not the carefree idiotic Naruto who had just a few days ago graphitized the Hokage Monument. Something was different about the dobe then just his clothes, but Sasuke just couldn't put his finger on it.

Just then, Iruka entered the room, making the kids in the room unusually silent. This was the moment they had all been waiting for, the team selections. When the scarred chunin reached his desk, he smiled at all his students fondly and said, "Today, you are shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato. You are genin and on your way to become fine shinobi. It has been an honor teaching you and I hope for the best for you all." Saying this, his chocolate gaze rested slightly on the seemingly sleeping blond, who was smiling slightly at his sensei's words. "Now then, Team one consists of…" started Iruka, both proud and sad that Naruto, after three years, was finally on his way to become Hokage.

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-On the roof of the Academy, Team 11-

"Well then, shall we get started on the introductions?' asked Shiruai Genma as he chewed on the senbon in his mouth, studying his new genin squad. His team consisted of Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto. Genma mentally sighed as he watched the timid Hyuga fiddle with her hands. It drove him insane how much she stuttered and squeaked. By no means was she incompetent as a kunoichi, unlike what her father mentioned all the time, but it was her overall personality.

Hinata's confidence and self-assurance had crumbled as her father put more and more pressure on her shoulders. From what Genma expected, she was also very cautious, not wanting to hurt anyone. The sad truth of being a shinobi was that you had to kill and he wasn't sure that Hinata could take it. Nara Shikamaru was in nearly the same position. From the Academy reports, Shikamaru's grade had barely been above Naruto's. This was due to the fact that Shikamaru never started the exams or tests whose grades were recorded. He never lifted his pencil, never mind finishing the damn thing. Shikamaru had no motivation.

He had joined the Academy because, as he said quote on quote, "My mother is a troublesome nag who wants me to be like his father." Shikamaru's father was a good jonin who completed many missions successfully. It seemed that Shikamaru seemed more concentrated on proving to his mother how unlike his father he was, who had gotten good grades on everything but was by no means the Rookie of the Year, by simply getting bad grades. What Shikamaru needed to understand was that he had to shape up. He had learned the tactics and skills every shinobi needed and now that it was drilled into his head, courtesy of Iruka, every shinobi he encountered would try to kill him.

He was an adult in the eyes of the village and should start acting like one. Lastly, Genma's eyes fell onto a mop of blonde hair. Now Naruto was nothing like he'd expected. From the Academy records, Uzumaki Naruto was a loud, hyperactive, cheerful boy who enjoyed ramen and pranks. This Naruto, on the other hand, was quiet, slightly rude, and somewhat mature. He didn't scream about his dream or interrupt anyone, but that was what scared Genma the most. Now Genma was, by all means, nothing like the blind-eyed villagers. He knew a vessel from what it held, but was frightened by the fact that a mere boy was the wall between him and the dreaded demon Kyuubi. "Okay, let's start with the introductions, shall we?" stated Genma, grinning lightly, "My name is Shiruai Genma. I like sleeping and reading. I dislike annoyingly loud people and assholes. My dream…uh, I had one last night? My hobbies are…sleeping anywhere? Anyway, your turn."

As Genma's finger pointed at the pale Hyuga, she jumped and replied, "I-I'm H-Hinata H-Hyuga…" "Oh for god's sake," groaned Naruto as he got up and shook the Hyuga by the shoulders, "Don't stutter, it drives me fucking insane!!" Hinata looked mortified by the time Genma managed to pull Naruto off her, but continued in a quiet, but mercifully stutter-free tone, "My likes are gardening and flowers, My dislikes are my clan and how they run things. My dream is to become an heir my father would be proud of. My hobby is flower-pressing." Genma mentally rolled his eyes while Naruto mentally sight. The girl was a fucking sissy! Not exactly the greatest material for a kunoichi. Naruto hoped to change this, as he looked into Hinata's flushed face, but the first thing to do was get rid of the stupid crush on him.

"You next pineapple-head," droned Genma, his voice slightly altered from the senbon in his mouth as he pointed towards the boy who indeed did have pineapple-shaped hair. "Troublesome. I'm Nara Shikamaru. My likes are sleeping and board games. My dislikes are naggy people and my mother's inconsistent nagging. My dreams…eh, don't have one. My likes are cloud watching," replied Shikamaru, staring up at the clouds in the clear blue sky, making Naruto sweatdrop. He'd have to work on this too.

"And you, short stuff?" asked Genma, pointing to Naruto as he hid a smile. Naruto scowled, he wasn't that short, as he answered, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are training and ramen, but Tomoe won't let me eat it anymore. My dislikes are assholes, fangirls, and traitors. My dream…is to surpass my father. My hobby is training." All three of his teammates, including a sensei, raised their eyebrows at his dream. They'd expected him to rant about how he would be Hokage. Heck, they didn't even know who his father was and why the hell Naruto wanted to surpass him. Did Naruto even know who he was?

"Alright then," said Genma with a grin, "I want you guys to meet me tomorrow at the park for a meeting. Please don't eat; I'd rather not have vomit on my sandals. Ja ne!" With that, the senbon-chewing jonin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind two nervous/confused genin and one disapproving blonde.

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-Near the Hyuga Household, later that night-

Naruto watched silently with his indigo-colored eyes as Hinata crumpled to the floor of the dojo, battered and bruised, as her father glared at her with disapproval, her sister mimicking his expression. Of course he felt empathy for the Hyuga heiress, anyone would, but unlike others we wasn't willing to take away her pain. She would have to endure it like he had endured all the abuse he had endured as a child. His eyes narrowed as he spotted silvery tears running down her face.

A side of him wanted to comfort his teammate, the side of him who was still the little attention-seeking moron who believed everyone was good and would acknowledge him someday. Naruto quickly squashed that feeling, but relinquished a bit of his self-restraint to place the exhausted and sleeping Hyuga in her bed. It wasn't like him to place himself in other people's problems, but Hinata was partially his responsibility.

"A ninja must take care of his teammates," he mumbled to himself, his eyes flashing green, leaping out the window without bothering to notice Hinata's half-open eyes staring at him in shock. Naruto shook his head of the hallucination, in his mind, as he thought of ways to get rid of her absurd crush on him. It would do her no good in her quest to become the rightful kunoichi she would become in Naruto's team.

On the way home, Naruto noticed the Nara household still lit, with the shadows of a woman scolding her son, who was lazing on the couch. The same applied to Shikamaru. He had to make himself better than his father than to fail and gain some attention. He was like the old Naruto, getting attention by failure and ridicule. "_Kami-sama must be really ironic,"_ thought Naruto dryly as he strided home, hands in his pockets, "_To think, I acted like that a mere two weeks ago." _His eyes flashed green again as his hair turned a bit more red, giving him a more flame-colored hairstyle. One could have sworn to see silver chakra twisting around him as the last Uzumaki walked into the darkness.

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-At the Namikaze household, later that night-

It was nearly midnight, but you could still hear the sound of heavy breathing and the clanging of sword against sword in the courtyard of the Namikaze household mansion. Naruto breathed heavily, exhausted from the amount of training he had done but nevertheless got into the partial crouch, his left arm drawn back, still grasping the end of the hilt of his sword. His right hand was hovering over the blade, his fingertips near the tip._**" Gatotsu Ishiki"**_ yelled Naruto as he charged at his opponent, stabbing her in the chest. Naruto drew back, fearing he had wounded her but it only proved to be an after-illusion as he felt the tip of a blade at his back.

"You're still hesitating," replied Subaru as she withdrew one of her kodachi from his back and slid both back into their one sheath. Subaru's double kodachi, or a shorter version of katanas, fit into one sheath, one with a hilt at the top like a normal sword, the other at the end. The effect gave the feeling that she held a nodachi or a long sword (Like Aoishi from Rurouni Kenshin). Naruto, on the other hand, had a standard Japanese-style sword. However, slight differences could be noticed. For one thing, the blade was a midnight black instead of the standard silver and on it, engraved, was its name. Riptide, also translated to Chouseki. The sword was his mother's heirloom and it was his by right.

Unfortunately, Naruto had had little experience with kenjutsu, though he took to his father's urumi quite well. (more on what that is later). "We'll continue this tomorrow when you pass the initiation and bring your team over," remarked Subaru carelessly as she turned and walked into the house, leaving Naruto in the courtyard panting. Subaru was not cruel, though many suspected her to be, but she was…calculating. She did not ever let her emotions get in the way, which was probably why people thought of her as uncaring, and rarely risked her life to save someone. She was not cold, she just trusted the person's skills, and so she never interfered.

However, Naruto wish that once in a while, Subaru would smile like the day he first met her. Perhaps it was because she was lacking sleep, thanks to a certain snake-jonin sensei, but she seemed rather irritable these days, though she was never a morning person in the first place. Naruto sighed as he resheathed Chouseki and turned back into the house, thinking about a certain kitsune on the way. His father had not responded for three days now and it worried him.

Despite being an asshole and insulting his mother, Naruto felt for Kyuubi. As if a connection, no matter how thin, was between them. "_Otou-san,"_ the blonde murmured as he rested his head on one of the wooden pillars. After having waited so long for a father, it wasn't surprising that Naruto's bluish eyes turned indigo, glassy with withheld tears. But not one salty drop cascaded down his scarred cheeks. A shinobi could not afford emotion, that was the cold hard truth. And Naruto knew it.

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VampBlood: AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A NARU/HINA PAIRING!! R&R, I know it sucked, but come on!! I have finals soon and I'm pissed at my brother!! Yay for me!!


	3. Chapter 3

VampBlood: Yet again my dear readers, I still some ideas for what to do with pairings

VampBlood: Yet again my dear readers, I still some ideas for what to do with pairings. I'd also appreciate some reviews, but I'm not complaining about the amount now I assure you that the Oc's will not become Mary Sues and I'll try my best to make this story great! R&R Please!!

'Speaking'

'_Thinking'_

'**Kyuubi speaking'**

'_**Attacks'**_

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Genma sighed as he tossed two silver bells, tied onto two senbon, into the air, still chewing on his own senbon. He had to admit that his team was pretty special. Shikamaru, though lazy and somewhat irritable, had a sharp eye a witty mind and was good at stealth, keeping to the shadows to observe before striking. His Kagemane jutsu was also useful by immobilizing enemies silently and from a distance. Hinata was graceful and quick, good at attacking, then retreating to attack later, a useful tactic. With her Byakugan, she was also a good tracker and not fooled by low-class genjutsu.

Naruto was more of a forceful person with many strong long-range jutsu, powerful and strong. He was fairly skilled at taijutsu with a good body for it. Unfortunately, his team wasn't without faults. Shikamaru was reluctant to move an inch. He was worried about how actions would affect him more than others. Hinata was too timid and shy, thereby producing no force behind her blows. She let how others think of her effect her actions. Naruto believed himself to be above others. He thought he could do everything by himself. Genma shook his head. They had such talent, but their biggest flaw was that they could work together, and that was what disappointed Genma the most.

His hazel eyes sought the clock, which read 3:15, one hour left. Until they figured out the true meaning of the genin initiation, Team 11 would fail. While the senbon-chewing jonin was musing however, he nearly failed to notice the quiet girl creeping behind him, a determined look on her face. The key word is, however, _nearly_. Genma's eyes snapped open as he dodged Hinata's jyuken strike, going behind her. Hinata attacked with an amazing speed, her hands like mere blurs as the strikes were dodged, but forced Genma to move back. _"Impressive,"_ thought Genma as he stepped back to avoid another chakra powered blow, "_but still as green as the grass._"

But that was the brown-haired jonin's mistake as he found himself unable to move, curtsey of the ebony shadow that bound him. Rolling his eyes to the right, he found Shikamaru smirking, his hands still in their handsign. Then he felt a crushing blow to his shoulder as Naruto smashed his foot into in, causing the jonin to fall to the ground. As Naruto snatched up the bells from the pouch at his side, Genma spar out dirt as he hoarsely whispered, "Well then Uzumaki, who are you going to give the other one to?" Naruto snorted rather rudely, in Genma's opinion, as he crushed one of the bells into two pieces with his hand, then proceeding to give the whole bell to Hinata and a piece of the second bell to Shikamaru.

"Since both Nara-san and I have a piece of the bell, we have technically passed," stated Naruto, yawning and rumpling his blonde hair. "And why did you do that? You didn't have to?" asked Genma, waiting for the right answer, eager to pass the team. "A team works together to get the goal," replied Hinata quietly, no longer stuttering, but still twiddling her fingers shyly. "And teammates take care of each other," finished Shikamaru, a small grin on his face. Genma smirked as he got up, dusted of the brown dirt, and replied simply, "Genin Hyuga, Nara, and Uzumaki have passed the exams, Team 11 is initiated."

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_**-Uzumaki Household, dinner-**_

Genma's enthusiasm for his team didn't last long as he sat at the table at the Uzumaki house, his eyebrow twitching furiously as the person next to him asked him yet another irritating question while he was trying to eat dinner. Perhaps it was Anko's purpose in life to annoy the shit out of anyone she knew. "So Genma, seen any men lately?" asked Anko cheerfully, digging in to a plate of chicken. Shikamaru and Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata choked on her rice, forcing Mahiru to thump her on the back several times. Genma sighed as the whole table forced themselves not to laugh out loud at the jonin. It had been one kiss at the New Year's Eve party! For God's sake, he'd been stone drunk!

"I've heard Iruka is still available, I'm sure he remembers that nice kiss you gave him," continued Anko. Now everyone at the table was bright red from withheld laughter as Naruto fell off his chair in shock. Genma flushed red, but remained calm enough to not strangle the snake jonin's little neck. "As much as I love to hear about Genma's sexual life," interrupted Subaru sarcastically, "There's a matter of why Naruto invited you here." At this, Team 11 turned to gaze at the emerald-eyed kunoichi. Since they'd had no training, Team 13, Anko's team, had on regular clothes. Subaru seemed comfortable in a black tank top and jeans, her untidy hair in a ponytail. Mahiru, who was already good friends with Hinata, wore sweat pants and a T-shirt, her eyes half-closed as she leaned back on her chair.

Next to her, cool and calm, was her twin sister, Mitsuru. Mitsuru shared the steel grey eyes of her sister, though her hair was pale blond and braided to her waist, with much fairer skin. She wore a button up white blouse and jeans, typical of her. Lastly, Tomoe was on Subaru's right, twirling around a chopstick like a kunai. Tomoe had raven-black hair that hung to her elbows in hundreds of miniature braids and had bandages covering her eyes, contrasting with her pale coffee-colored skin. But blind as she was, she never lacked in choosing comfortable clothing, today being shorts and a tank top. "Since our otouto is on your team, your welfare is of our concern," started Mitsuru, her light voice carrying an important tone to it. "So we can't have you running around on missions as green as a grasshopper's ass," stated Mahiru, who was a bit more rude than her sister.

"So basically, you want to train my students," finished Genma, his face marred with a scowl. He was a bit irritated that some genin, no matter how strong, wanted to take hold of his team. He was no Hatake Kakashi, but he knew some tricks up his sleeves and wanted to train his first team, seriously, his own way. "No Shiruai-san, we just want to help them attain their own full potential," replied Tomoe, walking with grace over to Hinata and lifting her to her feet, saying, "Hinata-chan here has great balance and grace, but the traditional Jyuken style doesn't agree with her chakra. For Jyuken, a Hyuga must have Doton or earth element chakra. Hinata does not, but has two flexible types of chakra. If she learned the style I used, perhaps she could find learning your techniques easier, a benefit for you. I suggest weapon training and perhaps some genjutsu and ninjutsu."

"For Shikamaru," added Subaru, jabbing at the side of the lazy nin's head, making him cast an irritated look at her, " he can learn strategy with you, but I can teach him some ninjutsu, perhaps some genjutsu and better control over his Kagemane no Jutsu." "For Naruto," stated Mitsuru, "Teach him a style that fits him. You two seem to have the same body shape and Naruto has no style whatsoever. He can probably also learn some ninjutsu and maybe some strategy ideas from you. As you can see, you will still have rein over Team 11…"

"…but we'll be able to be assured that they reach their full potential based on their needs," finished Mahiru, gaining a glare from her twin. Though they didn't necessarily like each other, the twins had a funny habit of finishing each other's thoughts and sentences. Genma nodded slowly, his mind understanding the benefits that his team could receive from both Team 13 and himself. Much less to say, he was going to have an interesting day tomorrow.

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_**-The Uzumaki Dojo, the next day-**_

When Hinata had heard Tomoe say she was unfit to use the Jyuken style, she had nearly fainted. The Jyuken style had been used by the Hyuga clan for as long as it had existed. To say that she was not able to use it was a clear sign that she was never going to be the heir her father and her clan wanted. It was a sign of disgrace and she was sure to be shunted aside as her more competent sister took the title of heir to the Hyuga clan. However, her musing stopped as a plain piece of white paper fluttered in front of her, in the grasp of Yamabuki Tomoe.

Hinata raised an eyebrow, a rather un-Hinata like expression, but took the paper quietly. Before the initiation, she'd stuttered and been a coward; rather doing what other's thought best instead of her own gut feeling. That's why she'd admired Naruto so much in the Academy because he'd followed his own dream. His confidence had astounded her, which had developed into a crush. But a crush was a crush and it crushed. Especially after the talk she'd had with Naruto and Shikamaru after the initiation.

_Flashback_

"_We worked well together," remarked Naruto simply as the three walked down an alley toward the Uzumaki home for dinner. Hinata nodded timidly as Shikamaru yawned in response. Suddenly, Naruto stopped walking, his arms straight as an arrow as the sudden silence surprised the other two. "Hinata, I've known for the longest time about your crush on me," muttered Naruto, making Hinata squeak. This was it, when he laughed at her pathetic idiodicy and walked away, but she was surprised to see a rather painfully sad smile on the tanned face as he turned indigo eyes to milky white. _

"_I thought for the longest time that no one ever cared for me, that I was the orphan fool who was hated by the entire village. That's why I wanted to be Hokage. To be acknowledged by this village as important. But I realized that long ago and threw away that mask, the one of the fool who only loved pulling pranks and Haruno Sakura. This is who I am now," replied Naruto, grasping her shoulder and suddenly muttering, "What I want to see one day is the real Hinata. The one who is behind the little girl who stuttered and had an admirable crush on Uzumaki Naruto. What the real Hinata felt for Uzumaki Naruto was not love." _

_Hinata opened her mouth to retaliate, to say it wasn't true, but closed it quietly. Naruto was right, what she'd felt for him was blind admiration and a need to be like him, but no love. No, only several emotions that she'd thought was love, but had been mere admiration and wanting of confidence. "I know," she replied, just as quietly. She smiled, a real smile, for the first time. _

_End Flashback_

It had been hard, chipping away her mask piece by piece, but even now she'd become a totally different person. She no longer stuttered nor blushed, although she still had the rather annoying habit with her fingers. She actually felt much better after finally realizing and admitting she had never loved Naruto, as if a giant weight had lifted. She still felt admiration and fondness, but nothing alike to a romantic love. Progress was being made.

"Alright then, first thing's first," said Tomoe, "The style I use is what I like to call Buraindo Hito no Emono or Blind Man's Game. Since I'm blind, I use chakra to increase my hearing, taste, smell, and touch senses, but there are some other uses as well. The Jyuken style of the Hyuga focuses on forcing chakra into the keirakukei or the chakra channels in one body. However, this only works if one's chakra type is firm and strong, in this case, earth type. Through out the years, the Hyuga have always had earth type chakra, but I've seen that you are different."

"If you're blind, how can you sense that I cannot execute the Jyuken properly?" asked Hinata. Pointing to her bare and rough feet, Tomoe grinned and replied, "when I fight, I force my chakra into the earth, so when someone steps on the earth, they step against my chakra, alerting me. That is a basic of my style, but there are other methods depending on the type of chakra you have. Force your chakra into the paper and tell me what happens." As Hinata did so, the paper crinkled up, and when Tomoe was told, her eyebrows shot up.

"I knew you didn't have earth chakra, but I never expected you to have lightning chakra. This explains a lot. Though lightning does have a lot of force in it, it is not as easy to control. I suspect you use your palms in Jyuken rather than your fingers, you use this to control your chakra better, but lose target of the keirakukei and the tenketsu you aim for and the force. That's the reason you are not fit for Jyuken."

At this, Hinata lowered her head, but Tomoe whapped it up right again and answered, "This isn't a bad thing. Though the Hyuga Jyuken style intrigues me, it has its flaws. You use a massive amount of chakra and severely damage the nerves in your hands. I'm surprised that the elder Hyuga's can even lift up their chopsticks anymore. Another thing is they relay on their Byakugan too much. It is a useful weapon, but that is why the Hyuga clan has not advanced though these years. They also focus of stopping the flow of chakra or expelling chakra, I'm surprised they didn't think of pressing their own tenketsu to strengthen their chakra."

Hinata looked surprised, but Tomoe ignored her as she turned to the chest near the corner of the dojo and lifted out what looked like ten thin metal circles. Tomoe then proceeded to stick each on to each of Hinata's fingers, giving her the look of a rather weird specimen of an alien. "Those metal plates should attract the lightning in your chakra, but save your nerves from getting fried. Now close your eyes and widen your chakra towards me." Doing as she instructed, Hinata closed her milky eyes and widened her chakra. She felt nothing, the usual chakra from Tomoe, herself, and everything else.

"Now," she heard Tomoe say, "focus the your chakra to the metal plates, then spread your chakra out from there. No matter how confused she was, Hinata did as she was told and a small gasp from her told Tomoe that her theory had been correct. Hinata's brain screamed as she felt what could only be described as electric charges in Tomoe's body. She could actually feel the message Tomoe's brain tell her mouth to speak.

"You can sense the brain's electrical messages to the other parts of my body, correct? This can be useful as you can sense when and how the enemy is going to strike. But now you have to figure out a way to retaliate. Hinata grinned for the first time and opened her eyes, shocked by the sudden bloom of color, an idea forming in her head.

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_**-Uzumaki dining room-**_

Shikamaru eyes widened in shock as he watched Subaru, yet again, evade his attacks and win. Subaru sighed as she leaned back on her arms, giving Shikamaru time to study the shogi game board in a fruitless attempt to find a way out of the puzzle he was in. There was no doubt that Shikamaru was intelligent, in fact even Subaru had to nearly play all out, but he had no strategy.

Yes, he had a few methods, but he needed other ideas when his plans didn't turn out the way he assumed. Though it didn't really look like it, Subaru saw Shikamaru as quite arrogant, believing that after he mapped out his idea, everything would go exactly according to plan, which it did 90 of the time. He needed to realize that not everyone would do exactly as he thought. There were tricky men, or in Subaru's case women, who were sly and intelligent enough to do things that Shikamaru probably would never think of. So Subaru's job was to get him to think of these ideas.

As she heard Shikamaru groan in defeat again, a small grin slid onto her scarred face, annoying the hell out of Subaru. This was the second time he'd lost to her and it pissed the usually lazy ninja off. Sure, he didn't care all that much usually, but something about Subaru made him want to grind a defeat into her arrogant, selfish, pretty face…wait….what? He did not just think of scarface as pretty.

Sure she had nice eyes and she was smart….whoa, getting off track. Nara Shikamaru had absolutely no feelings for the scarred kunoichi in front of him. None! After convincing himself in his mind, Shikamaru turned his eyes to the board and promptly groaned as he saw the predicament he was in again on the game board. It had only been three minutes into the game. He hated Kusanagi Subaru, that was for certain.

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_**-Training Ground 7-**_

Genma smirked as he watched Naruto kick and punch as if he'd been born for the Tei Chikara no Youshiki or Air Force Style. It actually seemed like he had as he gracefully swooped and glided, using his own body to manipulate the air around him, going fast enough so that he air cut flesh, but careful enough so that the gravity didn't crush him. It was a dangerous style and one mistake could have you crippled for life. The trick was to try to make your body as weightless as possible, moving your body so that the gravity focused on a certain limb, usually the feet.

This was used to keep balance as the user displayed complicated punches in a god-like speed, using that speed to sharpen and direct the air around the fist, effectively cutting the flesh of the opponent. The style had been made by the Fourth Hokage, making it appropriate for the blonde genin. Genma frowned as the senbon in his mouth broke from the air pressure around the said genin. Popping in a new one, Genma began to really study his student.

He was definitely similar-looking to the Yondaime, with wild blonde hair and bright blue eyes, but there were hints of red and green among the features, similar to a person he just couldn't put his finger on. Finally, out of his incredible stamina, Naruto collapsed to the floor of the training ground. Genma sighed as he lifted the genin, who had fallen asleep, and carried him home. The boy was different than the other two. As if he was hiding something. Something important.

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_**-Hokage's office, several weeks later-**_

Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, known as the Professor for his vast knowledge of jutsus, was currently struggling not to laugh at Team 11, who had arrived from their last D-ranked mission, chasing the cat known as Tora. Scratched, bleeding, and annoyed to the fifth degree, Team 11 glared with murderous intent at the small tannish colored cat, who was currently getting its windpipe crushed by the Fire Damiyo's wife. Naruto however was grinning rather evilly and if one was close enough, you could here him mutter, "Yes…squeeze harder…prevent respiration! Die kitty kat, die!" It was a rather disturbing sight when the Hokage managed to break it up with a well-placed cough.

"Mission Report, Genma," asked the Hokage, not really looking up from the gigantic pile of papers beside him. He swore that thing was getting bigger every minute. "We successfully managed to capture the cat known as Tora with no _major_ damage done. No casualties, except for Shikamaru's cat bite…" stated Genma, stifling laughter. Sarutobi raised his eyebrow at the Nara, who promptly held up his hand, which had a big and rather nasty looking cat bite on it.

Clearing his throat, the Hokage shuffled through his papers, "Alright then, perhaps you can do another D-rank mission. There's cleaning the classrooms at the Academy, weeding Takahara-san's garden…" "TORA-CHAN, DON"T RUN AWAY FROM ME!!" "…chasing Tora _again_…" During this whole listing, a vein in all three of the genin's head threatened to explode as with every horrible D-ranked mission fueled their annoyance. When the cat escaped, that was the last straw! "Godammit old man, I've had enough of this D-ranked shit! Give us a mission worth doing!" yelled Naruto, his indigo eye twitching furiously.

Shikamaru and Hinata didn't speak, but one could see the vein in each of their foreheads pulsating, waiting to explode. "Genma, how many D-ranked missions has your team done?" asked the Sandaime, ignoring the sudden outburst from the blonde genin in front of him. "Um, about 30 missions completed, I think," mumbled Genma, flipping the senbon in his mouth with his tongue. "Well then, perhaps it is time for Team 11 to have at least a C-ranked mission," answered Sarutobi, shuffling though his papers again, cheering mentally as he finally found the right folder,

"Well I have two missions here, I'll let you pick. You can either escort a Tazuna-san to his hometown in Nami no Kuni or you can go to Kiba no Kuni and get rid of the bandits that have been raiding the towns there. Now I warn you…the second mission will involve killing. Genma, I'm not sure your students are ready." Genma stared at his students, his hazel gaze glancing over his group, his mind traveling back to all the training they had received, and replied, "No Hokage-sama. I am confident that my genin are ready for their first…kill. They have advanced far faster than the other genin teams and I have complete faith in them."

Sarutobi closed his eyes and sighed, his mind going back to the cheerful trouble-making blonde boy, the lazy mild-tempered boy, and the shy, quiet girl of the Academy. It had seemed so long ago. Opening his eyes, the hazy smoke from his pipe curling around his face, he saw three determined and ready shinobi and finally nodded his head, stating, "You are to leave tomorrow at 8 and are going to be gone for two weeks. Pack light and meet at the gate at 7:30 a.m. Dismissed."

Team 11 bowed and walked out, leaving Sarutobi in his thoughts. Now who was going to get that drunk Tazuna off his hands? Suddenly, his face curled into a surprisingly evil grin on his grandfatherly face as he thought of the perfect team. Team 7, Kakashi's squad. Ah, payback was such a bitch.

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_**-Hyuga household, later that night-**_

Hinata watched silently from the sidelines as her father continued to train her younger sister, Hanabi. Her face betrayed no emotion, even as her elder cousin Neji glared at her from behind. After taking her style to a new level, Hinata;s mask had begun to drop at a very fast rate, partially thanks to Tomoe. She had told the blind girl every little piece of information that had been gnawing at her heart and it had helped. After talking about all the years of sufferig, Hinata found that she simply had no care for the Hyuga clan.

Of course she still had feelings for her immediate family, but she didn't care that she wasn't the heir her father wanted. Her father had focused on the clan alone, making him a puppet in her eyes to the elders. She had watched her sister become a puppet as well as her elder cousin and it sickened her. To think they critisised her for being weak when they themselves had been so weak in the first place. She'd stay, for now, and watched her clan crumble as the branch clan would finally revolt, Neji no doubt with them. Then she'd make her move and bring the well-deserved peace to her clan. Hinata was by no means ambitious, thankfully she hadn't inherited that piece of personality, but she had plans which she planned to achieve my any means necessary.

Disgusted by the way her father was trying to show how weak she was and how much he favored Hanabi, Hinata arubtly stood and walked toward the door. Her father stopped immediately and angrily said, "I have not given you permission to leave, daughter." Hinata turned and even Hiashi was startled by the look in her moon-silver eyes. Nothing, pure nothing.

"I find myself above your petty permission. Train well with your daughter, Hiashi-sama, good night," replied Hinata quietly and walked out with an air of confidence. Hiashi stood in shock as something inside him spilled, something he had not felt in a long time, guilt and regret.

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_**-Nara household, later that night-**_

Shikamaru sighed metally as his mother launched into another rant about how lazy he was and how she wished he was more like his father. This was what, the seventieth time? He loved his mother, he really did. But lately, she'd done nothing more than piss him off. His mother had always wanted a daughter, but after finding out she couldn't have anymore children, she'd focused all her attention onto her son. At first, it hadn't been that bad, a few little adjustments and he was good to go. Now, it was flat out critisism on everything.

She come to see that her son _had_ to be like her husband, that only then would she had _the perfect son_. It had never occurred to her that he wasn't perfect. He couldn't be exactly like his father. To prove his point, he;d started slacking off, hiding his huge intelligence to try to make her see the hard way. He wasn't his father. He didn't want to act like his father. It pissed the brown-haired shinobi off that his mother couldn't see her son's good points, which was huge considering his love of shougi and go, and focused on his flaws.

All mothers did, but what Nara Megumi did was just plain harsh. It crumbled his self-esteem and for a while he'd hated both his parents. Now, he'd gotten to rarely speaking with them. Without a word, Shikamaru walked out of the room, leaving his mother to rant all she wanted. He'd had enough of her criticism and her analaysis of him. He needed sleep, now.

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_**-Konoha hospital, later that night-**_

The hospital was eerily quiet as the sun set in the distance, giving room 108 a rosy hue. This partcular room was for long-term paitents, people who were on life support or had many mortal injuries. In the room of 108, there was a woman who'd been there for fourteen years, never opening her eyes. Even today, as a light gust of wind announced the arrival of her usual visitor, didn't wake her, as it hadn't for the last month. Uzumaki Naruto let his face form into a pained expression as some stray locks of crimson red hair fro the pale forehead of his mother.

"Okaa-san, wake up. It's me again, Naruto. We've just been assigned our first C-ranked mission, so I'm going to be gone for a few days, okay? Subaru promised to watch over you while I'm gone. Don't wake up while I'm gone, okay?" Tear threatened to overflow in the indigo eyes as Naruto hung his head, his hand still on his mother's forehead. If a person walked in on this moment, many would not have recognized the blonde over his mother's bed as the cheerful prankster of the Academy nor the rough shinobi of only a few hours ago.

"**Kushina would have made a fine mother to you."** Naruto's head shot up at the sound of a familiar voice inside his head, guttural and harsh. _"What is it Kyuubi? Do you want to yell at me some more about how I'm a human, how my mother's one too?"_ **"Kit, I…"** _"Because I don't want that shit anymore! If you don't want to be my father, that's fine, but leave my mother out of this!" _**"Kit, I just…"**_ "All I wanted was a mother and a father and I was deprived of that! Having your father stuck inside you and not believing that you're his son is bad enough!"_

"**Naruto, I believe you."**_ "And on top of that ,everyone believes you're a monster and…what did you say?" _**"I said I believe you."**_ "No, before that." _**"Naruto?" **_"Yes…that's the first time you've called me by name…" _**"Naruto, I believe you. I acted the way I was because that's what I am. A fire kitsune. Hot temper, recklessness, you name it..."**_ "Maybe that's way mom loved you so much." _**"You're like me in so many ways. It almost scares me how you act just like me. Your mother…was my world. Kitsune don't trust easily, Naruto, and it took your mother forever to gain mine. But she never gave up, always trying and trying. Giving me comfort, trying not to hurt me…"**

"_Maybe that's why she never told you about her engagement to Namikaze Minato." _**"He's your father, yet you call him by his name."**_ "He is not my father. A father would not have blindly trusted a prejudice village with a newborn vessel." _**"…"**_ "Kyuubi…" _**"Father…"**_ "What?" _**"I am your father kit, address me respectively, now go home, your sisters will worry." **_"Hai otou-san…"_

And with a last stroke of his mother's cheek, Naruto fled from the hospital room, both father and son thinking of the same woman, not knowing that from that very hospital bed, Uzumaki Kushina smiled.

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VampBlood:  I am so sorry for the delay. I just been studying for my finals, which are a pain in the ass, and trying to think of good pairings. Obviously, this isn't going to be Naru/Fem Haku anymore, I don't think Haku is going to live actually. But can you guys give me some ideas for my Ocs pairings? Having a bit a trouble! Sorry again for Shika's stupid story, but you really got to think in his view and you'll understand. R&R!!


	4. Chapter 4

VampBlood: Hello people, I'd like some ideas for some pairngs now that you know who everyone is

VampBlood: Hello people, I'd like some ideas for some pairings now that you know who everyone is. I already have an idea for Subaru, but I'd appreciate some other ideas! I'd also like to point out that though Naruto does have a bloodline, he won't be using it in every fight in the whole story. I'd like to concentrate on how much he matures without his bloodline before adding it in. It may be powerful, but it's not all that important. R&R!!

"speaking"

"_thinking"_

"**Kyuubi speaking"**

"Jutsu Name"

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"_Well I have two missions here, I'll let you pick. You can either escort a Tazuna-san to his hometown in Nami no Kuni or you can go to Kiba no Kuni and get rid of the bandits that have been raiding the towns there. Now I warn you…the second mission will involve killing. Genma, I'm not sure your students are ready." Genma stared at his students, his hazel gaze glancing over his group, his mind traveling back to all the training they had received, and replied, "No Hokage-sama. I am confident that my genin are ready for their first…kill. They have advanced far faster than the other genin teams and I have complete faith in them."_

_Sarutobi closed his eyes and sighed, his mind going back to the cheerful trouble-making blonde boy, the lazy mild-tempered boy, and the shy, quiet girl of the Academy. It had seemed so long ago. Opening his eyes, the hazy smoke from his pipe curling around his face, he saw three determined and ready shinobi and finally nodded his head, stating, "You are to leave tomorrow at 8 and are going to be gone for two weeks. Pack light and meet at the gate at 7:30 a.m. Dismissed." Team 11 bowed and walked out, leaving Sarutobi in his thoughts._

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_**-Near Kiba no Kuni-**_

It was near dark, the sun was nearly setting as the screams of many a shinobi were heard. Brutally slaughtered by means of teeth and claws, the shinobi of Kumo were merciless against those of Iwa, especially a certain blonde-haired jonin. The jonin couldn't have been much older than a genin, perhaps fifteen years old at the most, but her yellow-green eyes showed how much of a killer she was at such a young age. Her rage fueling her skill, she no longer fought with grace and elegance as usual and resorted to animalistic techniques, ripping throats and limbs of the enemy. Her teammates gave her nervous glances as the last shinobi of Iwa was slain, leaving behind a pissed off and bloodied kunoichi.

Turning around and seeing their pathetically scared faces, Nii Yugito snorted and walked towards the river, hoping to wash herself off. She heard her "boyfriend" Takeshi ask if she needed medical attention, but her mind brushed his voice off. She knew that no matter how caring Takeshi, Ginta, and Kumiko acted, none of them actually would miss her if she were to die. Fat chance that'd ever happen. Yugito rolled her eyes as she sank into the river, clothes and all, and tried to scrub the smell of blood from her clothes and her skin. The smell irritated her, as it excited Nibi more than ever, and made her cringe. It reminded her that no matter how good Nii Yugito got, she'd always be a human, a mortal.

"_Yugito-chan…I don't think that you should live here anymore"_

Rage suddenly consumed the blonde kunoichi as she smashed her fists into the ice-cold water, making droplets fly into the golden-red sky. After twelve years of love and care, her father and suddenly thrown her out of the house, not giving her any explanation. Cursing her father under her breath, Yugito clambered out of the river and shook her self as a cat would to dry, her eyes glowing in the near darkness. As she started for her teammates' camp, her father's words swirled around her, as if they were trying to squeeze the life out of her.

"_I don't think you should come over anymore."_

"_I'm sorry, why are you here?" _

"_Please, leave me alone."_

"_I don't want you here anymore."_

Of course, Yugito still saw her little half-brother, Kyoya, and her step-mother, Fuzuki, but her father would not let her into his presence. Even when he was acting the part of Raikage and giving her a simple mission, Yugito saw it. The fear, the anger, the sorrow, all directed at her by her own flesh and blood. He'd even renounced her from the family quietly and given her the surname Nii, a humiliating reminder of what was always going to be inside of her. He never shouted or attacked violently, but somehow, the emptiness of his space in her life hurt the blonde kunoichi all the more.

However, her self-angst didn't last as her well-honed senses perked at the sound of kunai whistling towards her head. Ducking quickly, the blonde kunoichi retaliated her own kunai, smirking as a small cry assured her that she hadn't missed her mark. However, her yellow-green eyes widened in horror as she saw who had attacked her, his deep gray eyes showed guilt and loathing at the same time. "Tak…" whispered Yugito, but was unable to finish as another three kunai dug deep into her back. Yugito screamed as she felt the kunai cave into her flesh, the green poison lacing the weapons mingling with her blood. As she fell towards the ground, she only heard Takeshi murmur, "I'm sorry Yugito, these are your father's orders."

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_**-Sengaku gang hideout, Kiba no Kuni-**_

It hadn't been as hard to track down the bandits as Shikamaru had expected, his chocolate brown eyes narrowing at the sights of the bandits feasting below the cliff. They had just raided a small village not far from here and had decided to celebrate with their stolen plunder. But what really made the pineapple-headed genin nearly retch were the man leering at the women near the side of the camp. No doubt, they'd be raped and sold into prostitution. They had nothing left; their husbands and families were dead and their homes destroyed.

Genma, noticing Shikamaru's tensed pose, laid a reassuring hand on the genin's shoulder, giving a small squeeze. This would be Shikamaru's first plan to kill. He would be scheming how to kill living breathing men with blood in their veins, no matter how big of scum they were. Surprisingly, it was Hinata who was the most calm, her pale eyes glinting in the moonlight. With a quick nod from Shikamaru, Hinata activated her renowned bloodline, the veins popping around her eyes rather intimidating along with the tense grimace on her normally sweet face. Naruto was rather stiff as well, his sharp indigo eyes gazing at the bandits and their festivities with a mild sense of contempt. His grasp on Chouseki tightened as he anticipated his first real kill.

Unlike what the other expected of him, Naruto was frankly terrified, though his stoic face didn't betray any of the emotions running through his frantic mind. He'd always held the villagers in anger and hatred, but had never though of killing them. Unlike what he acted now, Naruto didn't know everything. He had never experience a kill, never had human blood staining his hands as well as his blade. Naruto's musing was cut short, however, as his indigo eyes caught sight of a rather unusual group. For one thing, this group was considerably better fit and smaller, consisting of two males and a female.

They all sported on similar item in common, a silver hitaite showing the emblem of Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. They looked rather out of place with their grim attitude in contrast with the merriment happening around them. Behind them lay a bundle tied with ropes, but Naruto had a gut feeling that it wasn't just a bundle as he thought. "That's strange," murmured Hinata, her veins returning to their original state, "I may be mistaken, but there is a bound person behind the three shinobi from Kumo, perhaps a female from the looks of it." Now, you could say a lot of things about the Hyuga clan, but the one thing you could never say was that they were mistaken in matters of sight.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed as he glancing questioningly at their jonin sensei, all of them thinking of the same question. Why were Kumo shinobi in a bandit camp way out in Kiba no Kuni with what looked like bound up human captive behind them? This was rather unusual to be a small disturbance in the eyes of Team 11. Genma's eyebrows knit together as he held up his hand, giving the signal that they'd have to wait a bit longer than planned to attack, which was a rather pathetic relief for the genin as they heaved grateful sighs. No matter how competent these genin shinobi were, they were not all that eager to spill human blood with their own two hands. Making rather aggravated shushing noises; Hinata brought her finger to her lips as she activated her Byakugan again, her sharp ears listening on to the conversation between the bandit leader and the leader of the band of Kumo ninja.

"Let's get this straight, ninja shit," retorted the bandit leader as he glared though small sunken black eyes, "Why the hell should I buy anything you sell me?" The leader of the shinobi, a man who looked perhaps 17 or 18 with dark brown hair loosely tied back with a leather string, his black eyes sharp against his pale skin. "Let's get _this _straight," snarled the leader as he grabbed a fistful of the bandit leader's shirt, "Either you buy the woman and get her to a good place or a hunt you down and tear out your throat." "Calm down Takeshi, it won't do us any good if we kill the wretch," said the man next to him. He was a bit bulkier than Takeshi, his tanned skin nicely complementing his bright red hair and navy eyes. "We must follow the Raikage's orders and just make sure these pigs take Yu.._her_ away," added the woman to his left, her black hair tied back to reveal sharp silver eyes.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he noticed the slight mistake in the woman's sentence, as if she was about to say their captive's name. Why would they, or rather their Raikage, go to such far actions to make sure their captive was safe, even if she was a slave. They seemed to know her too well for this to be a regular slave trade. Genma noticed Naruto's calculating face and raised an eyebrow, his mind going along the blonde's thoughts. The question hung over the group like a blanket, why were the shinobi going to such lengths to make sure a captive, especially one they were selling, would be safe. A slight growl, like a cat's, jarred everyone out of their thoughts as the captive raised her head slowly, glaring at everyone with yellow feline eyes.

"The Raikage sent you to do this," spat the woman captive, her blonde hair flowing around her face, the firelight from the camps reflecting off her Kumo hitaite on her forehead. This unnerved Team 11 even further. Why would Kumo ninja sell one of their own, even if the Raikage had ordered so? Why wouldn't they just silence her and have her done with? Genma glanced at his team, his brown eyes pointing towards the camp. Silently, the genin agreed as they crept closer, readying themselves for the inevitable ambush. They'd have the Kumo nin to deal with, which would undoubtedly make things harder, but as it seemed they cared nothing for the bandits, Team 11 wouldn't have to deal with them for long.

"Goddamn you all," growled the captive, her lips pulled back to reveal sharp canines, "I should have known that you'd do this." Takeshi knelt down beside her and whispered something inaudible, but Shikamaru guessed it sounded like "I'm sorry," or "It's the Raikage's orders." In response, the woman spat at him, her spittle smearing his rather handsome face. The shinobi wiped it off his face, his face indifferent, but the captive's face grew a bit softer, as if begging him that this wasn't happening.

Shikamaru decided that this was the time to strike and nodded to his sensei, who then shuffled in his pocket, grasping the smoke bombs in the pouch around his waist. "There is no turning back from now on," murmured Genma as he drew them out, spitting his senbon needle onto the ground, about to get serious. "If there is no turning back, the only direction to go is forward," retorted Shikamaru, the brown eyes of the genius glinting with something unrecognizable for a Nara, excitement.

"To become full shinobi, we must prove to ourselves that we can do this," remarked Hinata, charging her chakra, her eyes open to reveal opalescent white surrounded by bulging veins. "To make our mark on history, we must do so by writing in the blood of our enemies," added Naruto, his grip tightening on Chouseki even more, his indigo eyes now a full blood red.

Genma was surprised however, to see tints of green in the ruby pools. The blonde gave a humorless laugh and muttered, "Besides, what else is a ninja good for, especially one like me?" Genma tensed and glanced at his two remaining genin, but found them ignoring the comment, perhaps saving it for later. Smirking slightly, Genma lighted his hand and though the bomb toward the camp.

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As the silence that enveloped the bandit camp grew uncomfortable, no one noticed the slight thud of bombs. Well, Takeshi did but by then it was too late. With a satisfying boom, thick grey smoke enveloped the site, obscuring any type of sight. Yugito gritted her teeth as her teammates went off to examine what was going on. Unfortunately, one of the bandit's had stayed behind, licking his lips as he draw toward her bound up body, perhaps not noticing the immediate danger he was in. Yugito tensed as he touched her chin with filthy, greased-stained hands.

However, he never got to make another movement again as he fell to the dusty ground, the whites of his eyes still posed in the disgusting leer. As her brow furrowed in confusion, she heard a clang as a kunai was dropped in front of her. Raising her feline eyes, she was greeted with the sight of a shinobi. With his blonde hair slightly rusty red, partially from blood and partially from his bloodline, Naruto's gaze held hers with a mixture of emerald green and crimson red. Half integrated with his bloodline, Naruto stared down at the kunoichi before him. He barely hung on to his bloody blade as the bandits around him were cut down before him with his silver chakra, writhing and wanting all the more blood.

"Free yourself, you'll do no one any good bound up like an animal for slaughter," remarked Naruto in a husky voice. Yugito glared at him, but managed to grasp the kunai with her hands and saw at the roped. Turning, Naruto was granted only a slight glimpse of the Kumo shinobi leader, Takeshi was it, when he screamed, "Raiton: Thunder God's Wrath no Jutsu!" The heavens seemed to darken when the crackle of lightning surrounded them, drawing forth the unlimited power of lightning for the Kumo nin. With a flash, it struck his outstretched hand, nearly frying it in the process, but undoubtedly giving the Kumo nin the needed strength.

The smell of ozone filled the demon vessel's nose as he tilted his head in a curious fashion much associated with foxes, his emerald green eyes not once straying from lightning surrounding Takeshi's right arm. With a cry, he charged toward the Konoha ninja, hoping to take him down. He was disappointed as he passed Naruto, thinking that he had killed the genin. He was wrong as the vessel remained standing and excruciating pain enveloped the Kumo nin. Naruto remained emotionless as the effect of his Kekkei Genkai took place.

As Takeshi enjoyed the final moments of his life, Naruto said quietly, "When you passed me, my bloodline causes what you may call my chakra to react, as if it has a mind of its own. It slices though the place where your chakra and your own life force collide, causing your attack the back lash at you. This is the form known as Rift Collision or . I doubt that you will live for more than a minute."

Takeshi said nothing as he cradled his arm, the light draining from his eyes. "Protect her for me…Konoha ninja," he whispered as he fell to the ground. As Yugito ran over to him, finally free, Naruto stood there, his eyes closed and his form forever stained with the blood of this man. He was a shinobi now, and nothing would change this.

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Hinata's eyes narrowed as he continually exchanged blows with the bulky man from Kumo, whose name she'd found was Kenji. Kenji seemed to specialize in taijutsu and was possibly the worst person to go against Hinata, who was well armed with her regular Jyuken as well as her Byakugan. While Hinata had been mostly relaying on her family's traditional style, which she had not stopped training in despite what Tomoe had told her, Kenji must have decided that enough was enough as he suddenly make handsigns, muttering the words, "Raiton: Lightning Blades."

Hinata tensed, getting ready to finally use her Buraindo Hito no Emono in the heat of battle. Positioning her self in the stance needed, which was basically with one fist raised level with her eyes and the other clenched at her waist and her feet planted firmly on the ground. Closing her eyes, Hinata focused on her senses, which were even more heightened with her Raiton element added in. Kenji scowled as he saw the clam face of the Hyuga and drew forth more chakra than intended in his rage. With a yell, he swung his arm in the direction of the Hyuga, releasing a crackling blade or electric chakra. Hinata's eyebrows drew together as she sensed the energy from the blade educing into the ground, effectively telling her where to dodge.

As Kenji kept firing, Hinata kept dodging, never once opening her eyes. With a growl, the Kumo nin made handsigns and yelled his final attack, "Raiton: Lightning Storm no Jutsu. With a crack of thunder, Kenji was awarded lightning as he charged his entire body with the ionized lightning. Hinata's eyes snapped open to see the charged up Kenji racing toward her.

Instinctively, Hinata starting slashing around her using her Raiton chakra, the blue light making a dome around her. As she started going faster and faster, the dome solidified and as Kenji attacked the barrier and was thrown back, Hinata guessed that the barrier effectively stole chakra when it was touched, which was courtesy of her Raiton element, as well as protected her by tossing of the attacker with the high speed of her slashes.

Hinata smirked as she whispered the new name of her first created jutsu. " Defensive Two Trigram: Shield" as she walked away from the smoking corpse of her opponent.

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Shikamaru frowned as he found himself stuck with the girl of the team. A girl, a fucking girl, this was officially the worst day of his poor short life. While Genma, Naruto, and even Hinata were out there kicking but he had to be dodging kunai and suriken as the Kumo kunoichi kept at it. It wouldn't have been as bad if she'd had some _variation_ with the said kunai and suriken instead of hurling on after another at his face, hoping to hit him with sheer dumb luck.

Not that he disrespected kunoichi, after all he had Hinata on his team as well as several kunoichi for his mentors, but he found this one dull and rather…boring. After several minutes of dodging sharp pointy metal projectiles, Shikamaru's ears twitched slightly at the sound of handsigns. His eyes narrowed, he could see the kunoichi making handsigns, even in the dense smoke of the bomb.

His eyes closed, Shikamaru also started to make the handsigns of the new jutsu he'd been taught by Subaru and Genma, thinking back to he time he'd started straying from his families regular techniques.

_-Flashback-_

_Shikamaru had his eyes open and alert, watching closely at his opponent from the shadows of the willow tree in the Uzumaki courtyard as he prepared the signs for his signature technique. "Kagemane no Jutsu," whispered the pineapple-haired Nara as he released his shadow in a long straight line and it connected with the shadow of his sensei. "Kagemane success," whispered Shikamaru in a smug voice as he prepared for the next phase of his attack. Unfortunately, this never came to occur as he was suddenly kicked in the back by Subaru, who in tern made the shadow-user lose concentration and release Genma from his jutsu. _

_As Shikamaru lay on the ground groaning, Genma laughed and remarked, "See Shikamaru, you can't always depend on just your family techniques to get you through your missions. Kagemane no Jutsu is an excellent technique for one on one battles, but if your outnumbered, you'll be over powered for sure with the use of that one technique, even if Naruto and Hinata are there to help you." Shikamaru glared at Subaru, who raised an eyebrow and helped the brown-haired Nara up. As he rubbed the soreness of his back, the scarred kunoichi handed him what looked like an ordinary piece of paper. _

_Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow in mock amazement, to which Subaru scowled and pinched him, and took the piece of paper. "Now, charge your chakra into the paper," instructed the senbon-chewing genin as he watched the Nara and Subaru glare and each other. Grumbling about troublesome women, Shikamaru did so and everyone was surprised to see the paper get soggy with water, drooping in the shadow-user's fingers._

"_Well, this is unexpected," muttered Genma staring at the wet piece of paper, "Nara have always had earth or wind chakra, I've never seen one use water chakra before." "Well there's a first for everything," retorted Subaru, turning back to the indifferent genin, "Listen, you will now be meeting me by the stream everyday at 7:00, got that?" _

_Shikamaru groaned, but inwardly was quite interested in his abilities. This was surely going to drive his mother insane. And he rather liked that._

_-End Flashback-_

"_Dear Kami, I hope this works,"_ though Shikamaru as he finally finished the handsigns just as the Kumo kunoichi did and muttered, "Suiton: Teppodama no Jutsu!" Opening his mouth, Shikamaru mentally thanked Subaru for training his gag reflex as he spat out a gunshot of water at the kunoichi. Fortunately, she'd just finished the jutsu and the water on her electro-charged body wasn't exactly the best thing for her.

"Raiton: Rairyu Endan no Jutsu!" she yelled, spitting out a shot of lightning as she got shocked in the process, throwing off her aim. Shikamaru dodged the sloppy attack easily and watched as the smoking corpse of the once fairly attractive kunoichi fell to the ground.

"Well, that went well," murmured Shikamaru as he toed the dead body gently. Pity, she'd been a decent fighter too.

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_**-After the battle, in a village several miles away-**_

Though they hadn't much to give, the villagers, or at least what was left of them, were grateful and gave them food and shelter as they went off to repair their damaged village. Even if it was a simple dish, Naruto felt it was the best he'd ever tasted. This was a gift of appreciation, someone saying that they weren't resenting him for living.

It was quite a different feeling for the blonde Jinchuuriki. Genma munched on the rice, sparing occasional glances at their blonde captive. Naruto had insisted they bring the blonde girl who'd been captured by her Kumo teammates. So far, she'd been quiet, not resisting, but Genma could see the conflicting emotions in the kunoichi's eyes. Something had happened and Genma was determined to find out what. Thoughtfully, Genma studied the girl.

She looked perhaps 15 or 16, about a year or two older than his genin. She was pretty, but wasn't exactly a beauty with long blonde hair and feline slitted eyes. Finishing his meal, Genma pointed his chopsticks to the blonde kunoichi, who hadn't touched her own food, and asked, "Miss, we might not get food for a long time, you'd better eat while you still can." When the girl didn't answer, Genma than retorted with, "Well, if you won't eat, at least tell us your situation. For all we know, you could be a nuke-nin and we would be forced to kill you."

The blonde then glared bloody murder at the fair-haired jonin and replied in a low husky voice, "My name is Nii Yugito, I am a chunnin of Kumo, or at least I was. My father is Minamoto Enishi, the current Raikage. I was sent with my teammates to exterminate some Iwa ninja that were spying on us. When the job was done, I was suddenly attacked and captured by my said teammates on orders of my father."

Shikamaru and Hinata looked shocked, as did Genma. The Yondaime Raikage was a rather peaceful, good-natured man, a vast contrast to his predecessor. It was rather hard to believe that he'd order his own daughter to be sold to traders. Naruto however was glaring at Yugito with narrowed eyes, having a silent mental conversation with his father.

"_Otou-san, this girl, she has the stench of cat, it stings my nose."_ **"Well, neko never did get along with us kitsune. Though from what she's told us, I think it's safe to say she's a Jinchuuriki, most likely Nekotama no Nibi."** _"So, like me?" _**"Yeah, except I'm pretty sure she's not related to her container like I am to you."**___"Well, we are pretty special that way" _**"Just go back to your team, gaki. They're starting to look at you weird." **_"Whatever."_

"Um Naruto, why are you glaring at Yugito-san as if you can burst her into flames," questioned Hinata innocently as the entire team 11 as well as the female Kumo kunoichi stared at the still glaring blonde. Breaking out of his little mind talk, Naruto ignored Hinata's sarcastic, or at least in his mind, statement and asked Yugito immediately, "Yugito-san, if it's not too troublesome to ask, when were you born?" Team 11 looked at each other in confusion. Sure Naruto wasn't the brightest bulb in the socket, the Academy had shown that, but this was still a pretty odd question to ask. Yugito, however, got the message immediately and stiffened, but answered, "I was born on December 7th, 15 years ago."

"The day Nekotama no Nibi attacked Kumogakure and was sealed away by the Sandaime Raikage, Myojin Kenji," finished Naruto, his eyes still glaring into hers. Genma's eyes widened as the pieces fit together in his mind while Shikamaru and Hinata still looked confused. Granted, if Shikamaru had known the existence of Jinchuuriki, he'd have figured this out by now, as probably Hinata would have. Sadly, they hadn't met a known Jinchuuriki yet. coughGaaracough.

"Wait, but what does the attack of the Nekotama have to do with Yugito-san?" asked Hinata hesitantly, back to playing with her two fingers. Whapping away the offending fingers, Naruto sighed and replied, "Tell me you two, what do you know of Jinchuuriki." Hinata raised an eyebrow while Shikamaru replied, "It translates to human sacrifice." "Correct," said Genma, taking over, "A Jinchuuriki is a human who has something sealed inside them when they are born with special seals. In this case, we talk of the Tailed beasts." "So," finished Shikamaru, "You're saying that Yugito-san is a Jinchuuriki and the Nekotama is sealed within her."

Hinata stifled a small squeak while Yugito looked guilty. "Yes Shikamaru, most of the times Jinchuuriki have youkai sealed inside them to either make them into some kind of ultimate weapon or to get rid of the danger that these youkai possess to humans."

"So both Naruto and Yugito-san were used to protect the village the tailed beasts attack and what you're wondering is why Yugito's father would sell her away when she was such a valuable asset to Kumogakure," said Shikamaru, his low voice now again gaining its lazy tone.

When Team 11 as well as Yugito stared at the Nara in disbelief, he stared back and replied, "What?"

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VampBlood: I'm done! I had major writer's block, but I did it! I'm so happy I could cry! It may be a little sucky for my tastes, but it's done!! Yugito does actually become a pairing for someone in Konoha so I need some people to give me ideas for who. She's only a year older than rookie nine, so she could be with them as well! Ja ne! R&R!


	5. Announcement

VampBlood: Hey people, this isn't a chapter but everyone should read it

VampBlood: Hey people, this isn't a chapter but everyone should read it. A lot of my friends and reviews have said to continue with Lightning Wind. I've found that hard since the story line is sketchy and I haven't been able to put everyone's fair share in. So, I've decided start over on it and put Black Moon on hold, and maybe revise that as well. People might be angry, but I wanna try to have the best stories as possible. I also might take a person out from each story so I'll need people to vote on that. I want my stories to be interesting, but not too confusing. So please vote for who to take out and I'm very sorry for the lack of updates.

Lightning Wind: People to take out

Seishiro

Sora

Tsume

Riku

Black Moon: People to take out

Subaru

Mitsuru

Mahiru

Tomoe


End file.
